In addition to a high school diploma, most community colleges require that students be between 16 and 18 years old to enter EMT-Basic training. Some community colleges require entrance exams, including English, mathematics and first aid, and students also need a current CPR card. Students interested in EMT-Paramedic training need to have current EMT-Basic certification.
Certain crimes, when revealed by a background check, make students ineligible for admission, particularly violent crimes. A medical examination ensures that EMTs are physically and emotionally capable of performing their job duties, including handling extremely stressful situations and lifting and transporting patients.
Colleges require EMT students to carry health insurance because of the nature of the work. During the internship at the close of the program, students work in ambulances and in emergency rooms and may be exposed to communicable diseases, uncooperative or potentially dangerous patients and other safety hazards. Health insurance protects students if they are harmed or become ill but also relieves the college from financial responsibility.
EMT training programs are typically about three to five months in length or about 150 hours and may cost between $500 to $1,000. Students study basic anatomy, physiology and the tenets of patient care. They learn cardiac life support, how to treat minor and traumatic wounds and study special topics, such as the care of women and children and emergency childbirth. Other topics include intravenous administration of medications and how to treat patients with mental illness. Programs include communication skills to ensure that EMTs can adequately assess patient needs and communicate accurately the patient's medical condition to doctors and nurses. Students complete coursework, laboratory work and an internship at an emergency medical facility or ambulance company as a part of their education requirements. EMT program graduates can sit for the emergency medical technician's examination, administered by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT). A passing score on the test results in certification by the NREMT and state licensure as an EMT-Basic.